Christmas on Standby
by McDumbles
Summary: Flight attendant Emma Swan is just trying to make her way home to her parents' house for Christmas, but the universe seems to be working against her. She finally snags herself a flight to Boston, it's not ideal but it will get her to the right side of the country. Her trip introduces her to a mother and son who are about to make Emma's Christmas the best she's had in years. (AU SQ)
1. Chapter 1

**Summary:** California local Emma Swan is just trying to make her way home to South Carolina for Christmas, but the universe seems to be working against her. She finally snags herself a flight to Boston, it's not ideal but it will get her to the right side of the country. Her journey introduces her to a mother and son who are about to make Emma's Christmas the best she's had in years. (AU SQ)

A/N: Hey everyone! I was afraid to start this so close to Christmas in case I couldn't get much done but the idea has been bothering me for weeks and I finally couldn't take it anymore and needed to start it. I'll try to write as much as I can before Christmas! I hope you like the first chapter, let me know what you think :)

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Christmas On Standby

 **December 21 - Los Angeles International Airport**

Airports were basically Emma Swan's second home. Being based out of Los Angeles, LAX was Emma's most frequented airport even if it wasn't quite her favourite. This was the airport she was at right now, and even though she wasn't working today all she wanted was to be away from the hustle and bustle of the Christmas travelling rush.

Emma had just arrived at her gate after waiting in the executive lounge for her airline. She had known they weren't boarding quite yet when she decided to leave her comfortable seat in the lounge, but there had been a lot of delayed flights and cancellations today. She didn't want to risk losing her complimentary seat in the rush of people fighting to snag seats on the limited number of flights that _were_ still going out. One of her favorite perks of being a flight attendant was the free airline tickets you could get when you were off the job.

Despite the busyness of the airport, Emma had been having a pretty good day so far. She had slept well, she had packed early, she had remembered to bring the presents she had purchased for the parents she was going to see, but her good day was about to come to an abrupt halt, and she saw why when her phone went off.

"You have to be kidding me." Emma groaned to herself as she read the text on her phone, she suddenly found herself wishing that this was not her day off.

Emma glanced over at the screen that had just switched to read "Now Boarding", and gave a frustrated sigh as she watched what would have been her fellow passengers scrambling to get into the priority line for early boarding. She kept outside of the line of holiday travellers but made her way closer to the desk, trying as much as possible not to appear as though she were trying to cut in front of the elderly passengers and the parents with young children who were currently waiting in line. Lily, Emma's friend and fellow flight attendant at Oceanic Airways had just messaged her with the unfortunate news that her stand-by first class seat was no longer available. Someone had apparently bought a last minute ticket in the most literal sense, and now Emma's hopes of reaching her parent's house in South Carolina later that day were crushed.

Lily was busy checking passenger's tickets and ID's but Emma was able to catch her eye. Lily waved at her with an apologetic look.

"Please tell me this isn't true." Emma asked through the line of people.

"I'm sorry Emma. Someone bought the ticket about half an hour ago at the front desk. Maybe try another airline? I'll keep my eye out of for something on a later flight with us but everything for the next forty-eight hours with Oceanic so far is booked solid. Or cancelled."

"Thanks," Emma sighed. "Have a good flight."

"Good luck!" Lily replied.

Emma nodded in farewell, before turning around and grudgingly dragging her small suitcase behind her.

"Shit." She muttered grumpily.

* * *

As Lily had said, all of the flights departing for South Carolina with Oceanic Airways for the next few days were booked solid. There weren't that many going out to begin with, and even the connecting flights were sold out. Emma could wait until tomorrow to see if another stand-by ticket would become available with her own airline but that wasn't ideal, and it didn't guarantee her getting home tomorrow either. Taking Lily's suggestion, she decided to look into purchasing a last-minute ticket with another airline.

An hour later Emma was beginning to lose hope when finally she found her savior, Ajira Airways. She tiredly dragged her feet up to the counter after being turned away from so many other desks, but then the lovely lady at the counter finally had the response Emma had nearly lost hope of hearing.

The Ajira Airline employee's nametag declared that she was called Cindy, and currently Cindy was checking for seat openings on her computer." I am just looking at our options here... and it looks like we have exactly one ticket available for the next flight to Boston." She announced.

"Boston?" Emma repeated in confusion.

"Yes. Unfortunately due to bad snow storms on the East coast a lot of flights have been cancelled or delayed today as I'm sure you've noticed."

"Yup..." Emma sighed. "Which is probably why I got bumped by my airline. Whoever bought my seat probably had their original flight cancelled on them or something. Paying customers come first right? Who cares about employees. I should have just bought that seat and been done with it." Emma had originally intended to make a joke but was still quite bitter and she had a feeling it showed. What was the use of free flights if they weren't available when you needed them most?

Cindy didn't seem fazed as she continued to look at her computer screen. "And once we get you to Logan... separately we can book you a seat on a flight from Boston to South Carolina."

"Perfect, could I do that right now? Charleston if possible."

"Of course. If I could just see your ID please so we can go ahead and get this first flight to Boston finalized..."

"Sure." Emma said fumbling in her bag for her wallet. She knew very little about this mysterious Ajira Airlines, it had come from nowhere and was still quite new, but it didn't seem all that bothered with advertising. _Whatever._ Emma thought to herself. All that mattered was that it had a seat for her. It wouldn't take her to where she was supposed to go, but having to make two separate flight reservations to get somewhere had never bothered her much. She had never come across a connecting flight that went through Boston on any if her trips back home, but at least it would get her on the right side of the country. She supposed if anything, once she was there she could even drive a rental car the rest of the way if it came to it. Fifteen plus hours driving in the snow wasn't ideal but hey, it was Christmas.

"Alright, so we're looking at an aisle seat..." Cindy was narrating her work again as she finalized the ticket.

"Great! I'll take it. Honestly I don't care as long as it's a seat that will get me out of California."

Cindy's eyes flicked up at her as she smiled. "Are you going home to see your family?"

"Yeah..." Emma responded a little regretfully. "My parents. I feel bad, I haven't spent Christmas with them in years."

"Well then we absolutely _must_ get you there this year." Cindy replied cheerfully.

Emma just leaned on the counter, exhausted from the day's–well, one hour's– plane ticket scavenging. She almost couldn't believe she had managed to snag this flight. The only seat left it seemed, to be flying to the east coast. She felt like an enormous weight had been lifted off of her shoulders when Cindy handed her the two printed tickets. The first to Logan International Airport, and the second to Charleston.

"You should head over to security right away, your flight will be boarding soon."

"Thank you," Emma said with meaning. She felt as if she could hug this wonderful stranger.

"It was my pleasure. I hope you enjoy your flight!"

* * *

Emma sped through security quickly, another perk of being a flight attendant, and got to her new gate ten minutes before they were meant to start boarding. After all the running around and stressing out looking for a last minute ticket, Emma decided to treat herself to a coffee and something sweet. The line at the Starbucks was long but she knew it would move quickly, and as long as she didn't order any speciality drinks or hot food items she wouldn't have to wait long after placing her order.

Emma made a beeline for the end of the line before anyone else could join the line, and she just managed to sneak in front of two men in suits clearly heading out on a business trip. She didn't envy them in the least but they seemed content enough as they conversed about their businessy things. Emma tuned them out and looked over the heads of people at the menu boards. A seasonal latte was so tempting but she made a silent promise to treat herself to one between flights once she was in Boston.

As she predicted, the line moved quickly and when she reached the fridge with the cold drinks in it she decided to pick up a juice as well.

 _"Mom can I get a juice?"_

Emma barely registered the words that got lost in the chattering of the many people around her. She reached into the fridge for the last bottle of strawberry banana just as the woman in front of her reached for the same one.

"Oh," the other woman said in soft surprise as her fingers brushed against Emma's. She immediately drew back her hand.

"Sorry," Emma said, even though she was pretty sure she'd had her eye on the bottle first. Emma took in the brunette's impeccably on-point hair, makeup and clothing. She was beautiful.

The brunette glanced at the bottle in Emma's hand and then looked back into the fridge, searching hopelessly for another bottle. Emma could see the disappointed look in the woman's son's eyes as the brunette selected a bottle of mango, carrot and orange instead.

"Mom I don't want that one." The boy said, clearly trying to be quiet enough that Emma wouldn't hear. He looked about eight or nine years old.

"It's all that's left Henry." His mother responded.

"Can I get a hot cocoa instead?"

"I told you, our flight has already started boarding. We can't risk missing it." The brunette replied in a kind, but stern voice.

"Mooom."

"Henry it's either this or water."

Emma glanced into the fridge again, the only other juice she saw was a green one that she was pretty sure the boy wouldn't want.

She gave an internal sigh. _It's Christ_ mas, she reminded herself.

"He can have this one." She said, causing the brunette to turn around again. Emma felt the breath leave her as the woman's beautiful brown eyes locked with hers, this time for much longer than the initial quick glance.

If Emma considered herself any good at reading expressions she would say the woman seemed a little speechless too, although Emma couldn't imagine why. There was a soft twinkle in the brunette's eye that made Emma's heart flutter. _Breathe_ , she reminded herself. After a few beats the brunette finally broke eye contact and looked down at the bottle which Emma was holding out to her. "Oh you don't have to do that, you had it first."

Emma shrugged, trying desperately to ignore the way she suddenly seemed to be overheating. She tried to play it cool. "I'm getting a coffee anyway. I'll be fine."

"Are you sure?"

Emma swallowed a little nervously. The woman's eyes were searching hers again, and Emma almost wished she would look away, but at the same time...

Emma looked towards the boy and saw the hopeful look in his big round eyes. "Yeah I'm sure." She grinned.

The woman glanced at her son too and then looked back at Emma again, probably unaware that Emma was now having a little trouble finding oxygen.

"Thank you. That's very kind of you." The brunette said, taking the bottle. "Henry?"

"Thank you." The boy gave Emma a big smile that made her heart melt just a little bit. His hair was a lighter shade of brown than his mother's and he was wearing a navy blue pea coat and red and grey striped scarf. His clothes complimented his mother's black wool coat and leather boots wonderfully, and Emma felt a small tug of longing in her heart. She loved the freedom she had in her life, but sometimes she found herself wishing for a child of her own.

One of the men behind them cleared his throat and both women realized that everyone who had been in line in front of them had already ordered and gone.

"Sorry." Emma said quickly as the brunette made her own more gracious apologies. The woman gave Emma one last smile before turning around and placing her hand lightly on her son's back to guide him toward the further cash register.

Emma was distracted as she placed her own order. She had barely noticed herself accepting the orangey carrotey juice that the brunette must have handed to her in exchange for the strawberry, but clearly she had and apparently she was now buying it. Emma didn't really want it but the brunette had given it to her, probably thinking she would want it instead. Emma decided to buy the juice because she didn't want to hurt the brunette's feelings even though the woman probably wouldn't even care, or wouldn't even notice for that matter if Emma didn't take the juice. Emma kept glancing at the other cash where the mother and son were ordering, and by the time Emma had finished placing her own order she seemed to have completely forgotten how to pay. Emma noticed too late that her phone had lost its' data connection and in her panic she couldn't think of how to connect to the Wi-Fi. She quickly fumbled for her wallet again but found that it had been suddenly lost in the depths of her bag. _Shit shit shit._ She felt her face redden a little as she glanced at the annoyed customers behind her. She understood, she was annoyed with herself too.

"Sorry..." she mumbled for the third time to the boy behind the counter as her coffee and pumpkin bread sat already waiting on the counter in front of her.

"It's okay take your time," the boy responded, even though Emma could tell that he secretly meant, i _t's not okay and would you freaking hurry up?_

Suddenly Emma felt a gentle hand on her arm and her heart nearly stopped when she realized the brunette was standing right beside her. The woman wasn't looking at Emma however, and was smiling at the employee behind the counter while holding out her phone to him which was open to her Starbucks app.

"I'll pay for hers." The brunette offered in her smooth, smooth voice.

"Uh–" Emma stammered, while the employee said, "oh! Thank you," and gestured to the scanner.

"Wait no–" Emma tried to intercept. "You don't have to–"

But the small _beep_ indicated that it was too late and the brunette had just paid for Emma's three items.

"Merry Christmas." The woman smiled at her and _lord_ was she stunning. She was so close that Emma could see the flecks of color in her brilliantly dark eyes.

"Merry Christmas," Emma stammered back at her, probably smiling like an idiot with her face as red as a tomato. _Damn whitest-family-in-the-world genetics._ Hopefully her California tan and makeup were enough to mask it.

"Thanks for the juice!" The boy named Henry held up the bottle cheerfully from behind his mother.

Before Emma knew it the woman had turned away from her, leaving a whiff of expensive perfume in her wake. Emma exhaled heavily as she watched the two leave.

"Thank you." The employee behind the counter said a little loudly, which meant it probably wasn't the first time he had said it and now he was kindly telling her to get the hell out of the way so they could get the line moving.

"Sorry. Thanks. Sorry," she said, hastily gathering all of her items and trying to force her nerves back under control. As she walked back to her gate she could still feel the other woman's hand on her arm and tried to hold onto the feeling for as long as possible.

 _Real smooth Swan._ She grumbled to herself, embarrassed within an inch of her life. She just wanted to disappear to her seat on her plane where hopefully no one would ever know this little incident had taken place.

* * *

When she reached her gate she saw that her section had already boarded, and so she made her way to the line, haphazardly stuffing her juice into her bag so she could have her ticket ready. She glanced at her phone to check the time, and of course her data had kicked back in now that she had already shamed the hell out of herself in front of an entire airport Starbucks _and_ probably the most beautiful woman she had ever seen. She showed her ID and ticket, and for the first time looked at her seat number: 5C. She walked down the aisle, looking at the numbers as she did. It wasn't until she got to row five that she looked down from the numbers. When she saw who she would be sitting beside for the next five and a half hours her heart nearly stopped.

 _Oh no. Oh no no no._

In the middle seat, 5B, was the brunette from Starbucks, and seated beside her in 5A, was the boy named Henry.

xxx

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 _A/N: Thanks so much for reading! Let me know what you think. Take care xx_


	2. Chapter 2

_A/N: Here is the next chapter! I hope you enjoyed the first one xx_

* * *

Emma just stood there for a few seconds, not really knowing what to do as she gaped at the two people seated beside her assigned seat. Her instincts told her to go back and to leave the plane immediately but there were people waiting behind her and also, she _had_ to be on this flight if she was going to make it home for Christmas this year. She watched as the brunette from the Starbucks fastened her son's seatbelt.

"Mom I can do it myself." He complained.

"I know you can." The woman responded softly, and continued to fasten her own. Emma noticed that the brunette had undone her coat and placed it around her shoulders. Underneath she was wearing a red blouse and black dress pants. Emma felt underdressed in her own red pea coat, jacquard sweater and jeans.

"Excuse me there are people waiting behind you." An uptight, nasally female voice said from behind her.

Emma had to refrain from rolling her eyes at the middle aged woman. Couldn't anyone see that she was having an internal emotional crisis? "Sorry, I just wasn't sure if this was my seat." She lied.

The woman huffed, clearly not excepting the apology.

The talking drew the attention of the brunette seated in 5B. She had an expression of soft surprise on her face when she saw Emma, and Emma took it as a good sign that the woman did not seem disappointed.

Emma gave her an awkward smile and a shrug before lifting her suitcase into the overhead container and placing it beside a Luis Vuitton. With that Emma edged past the middle-aged lady who was standing much too close behind her and squeezed into her row. Emma flopped down beside the brunette a lot less gracefully than she had intended, further adding to her shame from earlier. She couldn't turn her head, she couldn't look at the brunette, but she could feel the other woman's eyes on her.

"And so we meet again." The woman said smoothly, with a hint of amusement.

"Yeah, hey." Emma tried to be normal, finally forcing herself to look at the woman again.

The brunette's smile was dazzling, and Emma actually found herself comforted by it. She didn't know what it was about this woman that had her acting like such a freak all of a sudden but Emma knew it was time to get her shit together.

The brunette held out her hand. "What's your name?"

Emma looked down at the woman's perfectly manicured hand before taking it gently into her own. "Emma." _Oh god her hands are so soft._ Emma said to herself.

"Emma..." The brunette repeated with a graceful incline of her head. She pressed her lips together as though tasting the name. "It's nice to meet you Emma. I'm Regina, and this is Henry." She said, turning to introduce her son.

"Hey again," Emma returned the young boy's smile. Henry was already halfway through the juice she had given up for him. She was glad to see that he was enjoying it more than she probably would have anyway.

The three settled back into their seats and Emma did up her own seatbelt and allowed herself to relax. She sipped at her coffee, which for some reason tasted even better than usual. Perhaps the brewers were just exceeding expectations today, or maybe it was something to do with the fact that Regina had bought it for her.

 _Regina. What a beautiful name,_ Emma thought. She looked sideways at the brunette, who had an iPad sitting on her lap but which remained unopened.

"Thanks again, for the coffee and stuff." Emma raised her cup a little in indication. "You really didn't have to do that."

Regina turned her head again. "But I wanted to. You did something nice for Henry, I thought it would be nice to return the favor." She nodded towards the coffee. "How does it taste?"

Emma sighed gratefully. "Amazing. Completely hit the spot. I was kind of having a shitty day and then – oh." Emma placed a hand over her mouth as she glanced at Henry. "Sorry, I was having a... a not so good day. But meeting you guys made it better. I mean you did." Emma could smack herself. "I mean your coffee di – I mean. The coffee. You bought me... made my day better." Emma was screaming internally.

 _Awkward and awkwarder._

Regina laughed, her eyes twinkling. "I'm glad to hear it."

And now Emma was blushing again. Regina's laugh was like music. She took a somewhat too big gulp of her hot coffee and now there were tears in her eyes as well. _Oh my god pull_ yourself _together Swan._

Emma lucked out when Regina's attention was taken by Henry as he showed her something outside of the window. Emma used the time to straighten herself out. When she was a passenger on a flight this was generally around the time when she would put her headphones in, but she already had a feeling that this trip was going to be different. She found herself watching Regina out of the corner of her eye. Emma had never seen anyone like her before. She was beautiful, elegant, friendly, she was clearly really good with her son... Emma had to look away as Regina turned towards her again. She didn't want to be caught staring. Emma leaned her head back against her seat, actively avoiding looking sideways.

* * *

Once they had taken off, Emma considered putting her headphones in after all, but as she was searching her phone for some music to listen to Regina's voice intercepted her.

"So... are you from California or are you heading home for the holidays?"

"What?" Emma lifted her head up again. "Oh... both actually."

Regina raised an eyebrow inquisitively.

"I'm currently based out of California but my parents are actually from Charleston South Carolina. I'm going to see them for the holidays."

"Oh that'll be nice." Regina smiled.

"Yeah. It's been a few years since I've gone. Usually around Christmas I'm working and I can't get the time off. It's been nice though, I've been able to spend Christmas all over the world these past few years."

"You travel the world for your job?" Henry's voice asked, suddenly interested. "What do you do?"

"I'm a flight attendant actually. With a different airline. I was supposed to fly with them today but with all the cancellations and delays and stuff I ended up getting bumped. I had a heck of a time trying to find a replacement flight let me tell you."

"You got bumped from your own airline?" Henry asked with a frown.

"I know! The nerve right?!" Emma feigned anger with a smile. "We get to fly for free whenever there are seats available but another passenger needed my seat. I was lucky to find this one. It seems this was the last available seat on any flight going over to the east coast today. What about you guys? Are you from the Boston area?"

"We live in Maine," Regina responded with a small nod.

"Oh nice! It's beautiful there. Were you visiting family here for Christmas?"

Regina shook her head, giving a slight amicable shrug. "Not unless you count Snow White and Mickey Mouse as family. Although I'm sure Henry would _love_ it if that were true." At Emma's confused look Regina laughed. "We went to Disneyland." She explained.

"Ohhh nice! How was that?" Emma asked Henry.

"Amazing! It's smaller than Disney World but I liked it a lot. The rides were different here too, neither park is really better than the other they're just... different."

"What was your favorite ride here?" Emma asked, leaning her elbows forward onto her legs to get a better view of him around his mother.

"Umm..." Henry thought. "I guess Pirates of the Caribbean. Or the Big Thunder Mountain. Maybe Space Mountain."

Emma grinned. "Well it definitely sounds like you had a great time! Did you go on all of the rides too?" Emma asked Regina, not being able to imagine this classy, well-dressed woman spinning around in a teacup.

"Of course I did," Regina responded a little proudly. "Henry couldn't very well go on the rides alone now could he?"

For some reason that comment had Emma feeling the warm and fuzzies inside. "What ride was your favorite?"

Regina's brow furrowed in thought and her head tilted ever so slightly to the side. "I don't think I have a favorite."

"She liked the Haunted Mansion." Henry answered for his mother.

Regina smiled at him, giving a sigh. "I suppose I _did_ like the mansion, but there were quite a few really good ones. I'm not much of a ride person though to be honest. I much preferred the Christmas shows and the fireworks... The music, the restaurants, that sort of thing. I just find that the ambiance in the parks around the holidays is just so festive and uplifting."

"Yeah Disney really knows how to do Christmas." Emma agreed. "That's something else I haven't done in a really long time."

"You should go," Regina commented softly, "it'll bring out the Christmas spirit in anyone."

"You guys didn't want to stay for Christmas Day?" Emma asked.

"Oh no," Regina responded with a small wave of her hand. "It would be far too busy and besides, we like to be home for the twenty-fourth and twenty-fifth don't we?" She asked her son, who nodded in agreement. "Our town also has a lot of festive events in the days leading up to Christmas and we would hate to miss them all."

"Oh nice. Events like what?" Emma asked in genuine interest.

"We have a holiday celebration in the square every year, there are lots of treats and hot chocolate and all the kids can meet Santa. There's some carolling, games, that sort of thing. Sometimes we have Gingerbread house competitions at the town hall, a Christmas dance... it's all really nice. It brings the whole town together and it's like spending the holidays with one big family."

"That does sound nice." Emma said in longing. "I haven't had a Christmassy Christmas like that in well, forever. My parents did well in the gift-giving department, but they were always so busy with work that we didn't really have time to do that many holiday events."

"You should come to our town!" Henry said in excitement. "It's called Storybrooke and you would love it. There's carolling and ice skating and hot chocolate and cookies and snow ball fights...you would love it!" He repeated.

"It certainly does sound festive. I usually just spend Christmas lounging on a beach or at a hotel or something."

"A hotel? That's not how you should spend Christmas. Come to Storybrooke with us!"

"Henry," Regina's voice scolded. "Emma has her own traditions, and she has her own plans for this year. Just because her Christmases aren't like yours does not mean that she doesn't enjoy them. Don't be rude."

"Sorry."

"Don't worry about it." Emma said kindly. "Your town certainly _does_ sound like a nice place to spend Christmas and I really do appreciate the invite. Your mom's right though, I can't come. I have to get to Charleston to see my parents remember? Thank you so much for the offer though. It was really sweet of you." Emma winked. Kids were great, she loved that he didn't think it weird at all to invite a complete stranger home for Christmas. All he wanted was to spread the Christmas spirit.

Henry smiled, going back to looking out the window.

"I am glad you were able to get a flight today." Regina changed the subject. "It would have been a shame if you couldn't get home. Henry and I had a bit of a difficult time as well. Our original flight was out of John Wayne but most of the flights to Boston were cancelled from that airport. _Our_ flight was actually cancelled last night. When I saw a direct flight to Boston from LAX I jumped on it. I hadn't even heard of Ajira airlines before now."

"I didn't really know much about it either to be honest. It's nice though," Emma said, looking around the airplane.

"What airline do you fly with? Oh... if that's not too personal."

"It's not. I work at Oceanic. It's a pretty nice company I think. We fly all over the world so I've been able to see a lot of places for free. I like working with them a lot but I have to admit I am a little peeved with them today."

"Oceanic? What a coincidence, our original flight was with them too." Regina responded.

"So they gave us both the boot." Emma said with an eye roll, causing the brunette to give a small laugh and a nod.

"So it would seem. Isn't it funny how we ended up sitting side by side?"

"Yeah, it's actually weird that these three seats were available. Usually it's just middle seats or the back of the plane that's left... I don't know what I would have done if I hadn't found this flight. I swear Ajira Airlines is my fairy godmother."

"Either that or we have a little Christmas magic to thank." Regina said with a smile.

Emma grinned at that, holding the brunette's gaze for a few beats. "You know, I think a little Christmas magic is _exactly_ what brought us here."

* * *

 _A/N: Thank you for reading, please let me know what you think so far! I don't have much more written yet but if you like the story I'll continue working on it! Take care xx_


	3. Chapter 3

_A/N: Thanks to the couple of you who reviewed the last chapter! I really appreciate your comments! I don't have chapter 4 started yet, but let me know what you thought of this one and I'll try to get the next one written soon. Thanks for giving this story a shot!_

* * *

As the flight progressed Emma drank through her coffee, much more at ease than when she had first boarded. She liked Regina a lot but she didn't want to bother her too much because Emma knew personally how annoying it was to have your neighbour constantly trying to talk to you when all you wanted to do was relax and watch a movie. _Not that Regina is watching a movie..._

Every once in a while when she knew Regina's head was turned towards Henry, Emma would sneak a look at her. Everything about her was perfect: her bone structure, her complexion, her hair, her eyes, her voice... Emma's heart softened as she watched Henry and Regina flipping through their vacation photos on the iPad.

Just then Henry looked up and his eyes met hers across Regina. His face lit up. "Do you want to see too?" He asked.

Regina turned towards Emma and once again Emma felt her heart flutter as their eyes met. _What is it about this woman?_ Emma knew she needed to keep her distance, she would only end up getting hurt once she confirmed that Regina had a husband or boyfriend or some other form of partner. Regina was a _mom_. Not to mention that she was the most amazing woman in the world – if Emma wasn't being too premature in granting Regina that status without knowing anything about her. Of course Regina would have someone else in her life. Someone she and Henry were probably returning too as soon as this flight landed in Boston.

"Yeah for sure," Emma replied kindly to Henry, despite her embarrassment over allowing herself to be caught looking.

Henry passed the iPad to Regina who held it so they could all see. Emma noticed the way she held it slightly more towards her than towards Henry, likely because Henry could see the photos any time. As Regina swiped through the pictures Henry narrated each quick detail about them. They were just your average Disney trip photos but Emma loved seeing them. The smile on her face was genuine, rather than that fake smile she often wore when people wanted to show her hundreds of photos of their new pet chicken or something along those lines. _One picture is fine but who needs hundreds of the same damn chicken?_

Henry and Regina's photos though... Emma could look at these for days. Emma saw pictures of the mother and son in front of the giant Mickey Mouse Ferris wheel, in front of Sleeping Beauty's castle... she saw pictures of Henry with the characters, a few of Regina with the characters too... Emma couldn't stop smiling in response to how happy they both looked. Maybe Regina was right and it was the theme park's Christmas spirit rubbing off on them, or maybe they were just so happy because they were together.

They had finished looking through the photos by the time the food and drink carts came around. Emma wanted another coffee but she was already pretty caffeined up and so she just took a water and a little pack of cookies. Regina purchased a meal for Henry, who had complained of being hungry, and then took just an apple juice for herself. When Regina ever so slightly leaned in front of Emma to take the items from the flight attendant Emma's senses were flooded by Regina's perfume once more. It wasn't overpowering by any means, it was just, _outstanding_.

Henry had taken out a menu booklet and was reading through the options. Before the flight attendant could walk away he asked, "you have hot chocolate?! I just noticed."

"We sure do," the flight attendant, whose name was Chris, replied happily. "Would you like one?"

Henry looked to his mother first, who gave a him an affectionate smile and a small nod of her head.

"Yes please!" He responded.

"Could I have one too?" Emma asked, jumping on that. Hot cocoa was her jam. Or her bread and butter. Either way, she loved it.

"Of course," Chris replied, "shall we make that three?" He asked Regina.

"Oh no, I'm fine thank you." She replied graciously.

"Okay, I'll have those ready for you in a few minutes and someone will bring them out to you.

"Thanks." Emma grinned.

* * *

The hot cocoas arrived soon after and Emma had now drank her way through a Venti Pike Place, the orange-carrot-mango juice from Starbucks and a cup of water. She had eaten her pumpkin bread and her pack of cookies along with another few snacks that Chris had brought to them discreetly as a little extra treat, while Regina had wisely only consumed her one Tall coffee. Regina had also purchased a Pike Place at Starbucks, and Emma found this to be much more significant than it probably was. They drank the same coffee, big deal. So did about a hundred thousand other people, but Emma found herself wanting to connect with this woman in any way possible.

Emma held her cup of cocoa in between both hands, allowing the warmth to run through her as she contentedly closed her eyes.

"So you said you've spent Christmas all over the world," Regina's voice asked. "What places have you seen so far?"

Emma opened her eyes again. "Well... the last two years I was actually on the same kind of schedule, so I spent both years in England, but in different parts. Last year I was in Bath and the year before I was in London."

Regina's eyes softened, "that sounds nice. What was it like?"

"Well London was great. There were Christmas decorations _everywhere_. The city was completely lit up, it was so beautiful. The shopping was amazing too... it was nice but it was busy. And then last year I had a two day layover in London and I visited Bath just for something different. It was nice as well, a _little_ bit calmer then London I guess but not really. It had a more rustic feel if that's possible since everything in England is you know, _so_ old. But there were lots of Christmas markets, the food was great, there was ice skating which... I didn't _actually_ do because I was by myself and that's kind of no fun. There was a Christmas carousel which was beautiful but which I also didn't do." Emma shrugged. "I don't know... I love being able to see all these different places but at the same time it would have been nice to spend Christmas with someone. To have traditions you know?"

"I understand," Regina replied with a tender glance towards her son, who was busy watching a movie. "Christmas just wasn't... Christmas until Henry came along."

 _No mention of a significant other_... Emma thought to herself. That was when she glanced towards Regina's hands. She hoped she wasn't being too obvious. _No ring._ "Is it... just the two of you?" She asked in a somewhat high voice as she tried to be nonchalant.

She was relieved when Regina did not seem bothered by the question. In fact Regina's eyes glistened in a way that had Emma feeling all gooey inside. "Yes it's just me and Henry." She replied quietly.

Emma didn't know how to respond to that. The way Regina was looking at her right now was going to make her heart explode. She didn't even think Regina was aware of the effect she was having on her. Regina, unlike Emma, was acting like a normal person. It was Emma who was reading too much into every tiny eyelash flutter.

"How about you?" Regina asked. "Do you have anyone back in California?"

"Me? No. No, not for a long time."

"Just not interested in a relationship?" Regina asked gently in a way that could have seemed too personal or nosy coming from someone else, but which from Regina came off as completely amiable and non-judgy.

"It's not that," Emma responded. "I just haven't found the right person you know?"

Regina's lips pressed together as she hummed her agreement. "Yes I think I do know."

* * *

 _Oh my god oh my god oh my god._

Emma's mind was reeling as she stared at her reflection in the mirror of the tiny bathroom she had locked herself in.

She was reading too far into things, she _had_ to be. There was no way Regina had meant what Emma _wanted_ her to mean. It was just a simple, innocent little sentence... but it was the way the brunette had _looked_ at her. Emma had always been an avid disbeliever of anyone who claimed ' _love at first sight',_ but the woman in 5B was definitely giving Emma a run for her money. No. Emma did not think she was in love with this woman, she had only just met her for lord's sake... but Emma _did_ think that perhaps her feelings for Regina could grow into something more if they were given the chance.

 _Oh my god. Oh my goood._ Emma fretted. What was happening? She had never felt like this about anyone before, but what was she supposed to do? As soon as this plane landed in Boston Emma would likely never see Regina again. She didn't want to ask for contact information, what if it ruined everything? What if Regina wasn't looking for a relationship? What if she wasn't looking for a relationship with another _woman_? Emma didn't want to ruin the memory of this day by having Regina graciously crush her heart.

"Shit." Emma whispered to herself.

The plane shook a bit and she habitually put her hand out to steady herself.

 _Turbulence. Nothing to worry about._ All the same, she heard the little ding that indicated the seatbelt sign had just turned back on and she knew she should get back to her seat. Not because she was afraid of the turbulence but because she was well aware of how annoying it was for flight attendants to have to ask people to stay in their seats and have no one listen.

Emma took in a deep, calming breath. She couldn't stay forever locked in this airplane-closet-bathroom. She had to go back to her seat. She had to sit next to Regina for the remaining three-and-a-half or so hours of this flight and be normal, and maybe – if she was feeling brave – be a bit charming.

Emma released her breath, not feeling much calmer, and then gave the Emma in the mirror an encouraging nod.

"You can do this." She whispered.

She slid the lock on the door just as the plane shook with another healthy round of turbulence, this time a little stronger than before. She reached for the door to keep herself steady but since it had already slid open she fell right through and into the hallway. AND... into another _person_. Not just any person either.

"Oh!" Regina exclaimed, as Emma nearly took them both down.

Emma's arms instinctively wrapped around Regina's thin frame to keep her from falling. "Sorry! Oh my god sorry. Shit, are you okay?" Emma asked as she stumbled around, holding onto Regina for dear life while also trying to hold Regina upright.

"I'm fine," the brunette responded a little breathlessly, although her eyes still showed signs of surprise. They were both frozen now, finally having regained their shared balance. They were staring into each other's eyes in shock for a few moments, both breathing a little heavily.

"Um," Emma swallowed in embarrassment, "sorry." She repeated, finally releasing her grip on the other woman's waist. It was only then that she realized Regina's arms were also around _her_ shoulders.

 _Oh. My. God._

Regina quickly let go and took a step back. "Sorry." She said, looking away.

"It wasn't _your_ fault." Emma replied, completely mortified with herself. Maybe it was better to never see Regina once today was over after all. Emma seemed to be destined to make a fool of herself in front of this perfect, perfect human.

"I shouldn't have been standing so close to the door." Regina reasoned.

"I–" Emma tried to reply.

"Ladies I'm afraid the seatbelt sign is on, would you please return to your seats?" One of Chris's flight attendant colleagues asked.

"Would it be okay if I just used the restroom first?" Regina asked, a slight blush to her cheeks from the events of a few seconds prior.

"Could you wait until the turbulence eases up a bit? The seatbelt sign is on." The flight attendant repeated.

Regina gave a small sigh. "Of course."

"No hey wait," Emma placed a hand on Regina's arm as the brunette went to turn away. "She would have had time if I hadn't taken like, an _hour_ in there." Emma said to the flight attendant. "Just let her use it quickly. Please?"

The flight attendant went to respond, looking flustered, but Regina shook her head. "It's not an emergency." She responded graciously. "I only came back here so I wouldn't have to bother you to get up later on. Although Henry will likely have to use the bathroom at some point, I can just go then."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive."

Just then, the second bathroom door which was located on the other side of the tiny hallway opened and the flight attendant stepped backward to allow for more room while Emma and Regina moved towards the seats. The other passenger – a mother carrying a baby in her arms – mumbled her apologies as she edged past Emma and Regina to return to her own seat.

"Ladies," the flight attendant urged again.

"We'll go sit down." Regina placed a gentle hand on Emma's back to persuade her to move. The two carefully walked back down the aisle to their row, every so often grabbing a hold of the backs of the seats beside them to keep steady whenever the plane bumped and shook. Emma reached their row first and so she stood back a little to allow Regina to enter first. Regina however, stopped and looked up into Emma's eyes, studying her for a few moments.

"Wh–?" Emma began to ask, but then Regina reached up and gently brushed a few strands of hair away from Emma's eyes.

"Thank you for catching me." Regina said softly.

"Uh–" Emma replied, taken aback. "–yeah. Yeah of course, no problem."

Regina gave a single nod, dropping her gaze away from Emma's before returning to her seat and buckling up. Emma didn't quite know how to react as she took her own seat a few seconds later. Both women sat side-by-side, not looking at each other, but each with a soft smile on their face and an enamoured twinkle in their eyes.

* * *

 _A/N: Thanks for reading, please leave a review and let_ me know what you thought. Take care! xx


	4. Chapter 4

_A/N: Happy Thursday everyone. Here is the next chapter! I only work four hours today so I had a bit of extra time. Sorry it's not longer! I tried to get the weekend off to write but it didn't happen. I promise I will do my best to get as much written by Christmas as possible! :) Please leave your thoughts after reading! It's always a nice little treat to see a review in my inbox._

* * *

The flight was going by way too quickly for Emma's liking. She had learned a little more about her new travelling companions, including that Henry was nine years old and big into superheroes, and that Regina was actually the _mayor_ of the small town she lived in, which for some reason did not come as a surprise in the least. Henry and Regina – at Emma's own request – were currently back on the topic of telling her all about their plans for the remaining days up until Christmas. It all just sounded so perfect and she couldn't help but want to be a part of it.

"Wow," Emma said as she listened to their highlights from past Christmases. "Growing up, my Christmas traditions were always holiday bazaar's at my parent's country club... fundraisers... formal dinners with all my parent's colleagues... a Christmas Day brunch, also at the club. I would have _so much_ preferred to have done the things you guys are doing. I kind of feel like I was robbed of proper childhood Decembers." Emma quipped. "My mother even hired other people to decorate our house, and that includes the Christmas tree!" Her voice rose scandalously for Henry's benefit.

"Wait you didn't get to decorate your own Christmas tree?!" Henry asked in astonishment.

"Nope. Sometimes my nanny would convince them to let me hang a few ornaments on the tree but they were always moved around by the decorator anyway," Emma shrugged. "Don't get me wrong, I still had great Christmases, but there always just seemed to be something lacking you know?"

"Aw," Regina's eyes softened. "Well it's never too late. You don't have to be Henry's age to enjoy decorating gingerbread houses or building snowmen."

"Did your parents at least let you put out milk and cookies for Santa?" Henry asked.

Emma had to laugh at how concerned he was over this whole scenario. "Yes, that I did get to do."

"Did you ever get to write a letter to Santa?"

Emma thought back. "I think I did once?"

"How did he know what to get you if you didn't write to him?"

Regina caught Emma's eye and the two shared a knowing look. _Henry still believed in Santa Claus._ Emma realized. _Okay, proceed with caution._

"Well obviously I told him in person when I saw him at the club." Emma responded matter of factly.

Henry's brow furrowed. "Santa visited your parent's country club?"

Emma met Regina's eye again, the brunette seemed to be enjoying this immensely. "Yeah of course he did! He was always at the Christmas parties."

"Was he a member or something?" He asked seriously.

The little cough-disguised-laugh that Regina gave made Emma's heart melt. She too, tried to hide her amusement. Emma nodded as she chuckled to herself, "you know what? I guess he must have been."

"Is he _still_ a member?"

"Hmm, I'm not actually sure... I haven't been to the club in almost seven years." Emma responded wisely.

Henry was eyeing her and she could practically see the gears turning in his head. She hoped she wasn't about to ruin his belief in the jolly red-suit-wearing guy. Henry was around that age where in the next few years he would likely realize the truth, but for now though, Emma would have to watch what she said around him.

"Remember Henry, Santa has _magic_." Regina finally came to Emma's rescue. "He can be anywhere he's needed in seconds. How do you think he is able to visit Storybrooke every year, _and_ make time to visit every other town and city all over the world before Christmas?"

"I want to have magic like Santa. Then we could go anyplace we wanted and see the entire world!" Henry wished.

"Or you could just become a flight attendant like me." Emma winked.

"Do you think I could?" Henry asked Regina hopefully.

Regina laughed affectionately, brushing her fingers through his hair. "You can do anything you want to do and be anything you want to be." Her expression turned a little more serious. "Just so long as you finish college first."

Henry was beaming excitedly. "I want to be a flight attendant like Emma."

"Excellent career choice!" A voice said fromthe aisle. The three of them looked up to see that Chris had returned with two hot chocolates and an apple juice, along with a tray full of minty chocolates. "I thought you guys were due for another round of refreshments." He winked.

"Oh my god," Emma's eyes shone as she saw the steaming hot chocolate. "You're going to make the rest of the passengers hate us."

"Emma's right, you've been far too generous to us today." Regina said gratefully as she accepted the apple juice being passed to her. "But thank you, all the same. It's very kind of you."

Chris, a young man with a healthy head of thick, expertly tousled brown hair, placed his hand over his heart and bowed his head a little in a _you're welcome._ "It's Christmas," was all he said in explanation before giving them all a friendly smile and leaving them to their snacks.

"He's too much." Emma grinned at the cocoa on her food tray.

"Are you like that with your passengers?" Regina quipped.

Emma breathed a laugh. "Well... only if I think they're really cute." Emma leaned forward to give Henry a knowing look. "It must be the kid. You're like the only one on the plane over the age of two and under the age of twenty."

Regina's brow furrowed and her eyes wandered around the other passengers. "You might actually be right about that." She said, before handing her son a few of the chocolates.

"How old are you?" Henry shamelessly asked Emma as he unwrapped a chocolate.

"Henry," Regina whispered in scolding.

Not seeing the problem, Henry raised his shoulders at his mother and gave her an innocent ' _what?'_ sort of look.

"It's okay," Emma assured Regina. "I'm twenty-eight."

"Oh you're like my mom's age then." Henry said.

"Cool, really?"

Regina gave an amused eye-roll. "Not quite. I'm thirty-four."

"Close enough." Emma shrugged amiably, knowing that kids' perceptions of adults ages were different. Although when she worried that Regina would take her response as sarcasm Emma added: "with how amazing your skin looks I would have guessed you were twenty-nine at most." When Emma _next_ worried that she was only just offending Regina she forced herself to shut up because she honestly had zero problem with the small age gap. Regina could be in her sixties and Emma would still probably be reacting to her the way she was. Regina was just Regina, and Emma liked Regina.

The brunette in question breathed a laugh, clearly not believing Emma, although her "thank you," was genuine. A few moments later, Regina bit her lip as she suddenly, very obviously, studied Emma.

 _Oh my god she's even adorable when she's squinting her eyes,_ Emma gushed in her mind, feeling her face growing a little warm again at the attention. "What?" Emma finally asked, her eyes drifting to each side as she tried to figure it out. _Oh horror, I have chocolate on my face don't I?_

"You know what I think?" Regina asked softly.

"What?" Emma asked, feeling herself freeze up a little in anticipation.

"I think Chris has a little crush on you." Regina said matter-of-factly.

"What?! No he doesn't!" Emma swatted her hand in amused disbelief. "If anything, it's probably _you_ he likes."

Regina gave her a sideways look before good-naturedly shaking her head in disagreement. "You're young, blonde, _very_ attractive... what's not for a young man to like?"

Emma's breath caught in her throat. She looked away briefly to hide the smile on her face as she gushed inside. When she turned back to Regina she found the brunette still staring at her with an expression that clearly said _I mean it._

"So... you think I am ' _very attractive'_?" Emma asked in a daringly teasing tone as she fluttered her eyelashes for emphasis.

 _Wait am I flirting?_ Emma asked herself in shock.

Regina pressed her lips together, raising her head elegantly as she pretended to study Emma's features again before coming to a conclusion.

Smirking, Emma lifted her shoulder – and also her eyebrows – in an almost comically silent question of ' _well'?_

"Yes I do. I think you're beautiful." Regina finally responded in a much softer voice than Emma had anticipated.

The humor somewhat left Emma's expression and transformed into a sort of moved astonishment. She had mostly been joking around, but Regina's response had felt like honesty from the _soul_.

Emma was speechless as she asked herself a silent question: _Could this flawlessly beautiful-in-every-way QUEEN actually be interested in me?!_

Regina's eyes searched hers for a few moments and Emma could have sworn she saw a soft blush rising under Regina's makeup. Regina finally took a deep shaky breath, as if she had forgotten how to breathe for a minute. She cleared her throat and looked away, pretending to be suddenly very concerned with organizing the items on Henry's tray. The boy was looking between them, clearly very confused.

Emma realized that Regina seemed embarrassed.

 _Oh no_. Emma thought. _She thinks I'm shocked. The BAD kind of shocked. She thinks she's upset me._ Everything inside Emma screamed: _do something Swan! Fix this now!_

 _This is it._ Emma nervously brushed her fingers through her curly blonde hair before reaching a now shaking hand out to touch Regina's silk clad arm. She felt Regina stiffen ever so slightly, before the brunette turned slowly to meet Emma's gaze again. Regina looked uncertain, she looked nervous, and Emma felt her own heart flip-flop in response as she leaned closer to the other woman.

"Not as beautiful as you are." Emma whispered into Regina's ear.

* * *

 _A/N: Thank you as always for reading! Please leave a review if you'd like to read more! Take care_ xx


	5. Chapter 5

_A/N: Just a teeny update, but since it's December 21st I thought it only right to post since that's when this fic is currently set. I hope the chapter is alright, and_ _I hope everyone is enjoying the last days up until Christmas!_

* * *

Regina could not believe what she had just done. She had never, in all her life, been _so_ forward _so_ fast. Of course she had flirted before, teased before, but the words she had just spoken were neither of those things. She hadn't meant to go there, she had only meant to joke around with Emma about Chris, but then her feelings had just surfaced so quickly and she spoke without thinking.

 _Deep breaths._ She told herself. She felt like an idiot, she had allowed herself to be caught up in a moment and now things were bound to be awkward for the rest of the flight. The most dreadful thing was that she had actually really been enjoying Emma's company. Even though Regina had meant what she'd said to the other woman, she should have just kept her mouth shut. Emma's response after her initial shock had been very sweet, in fact it had very nearly taken Regina's breath away, but Regina did not want to believe that Emma had truly meant it.

 _'Not as beautiful as you are.'_ Regina repeated in her head, her heart still pounding from when Emma had first uttered those words.

Emma was lovely, and it didn't hurt that she was so wonderful with Henry, but Regina knew she needed to stop whatever this was between them before it became something bigger. Emma had her own life to get back to, she had a flight for South Carolina leaving soon after this one landed. Whatever was going on, Regina needed to end it before they both began to hope that this could turn into something more.

 _We live on opposite ends of the country for heaven's sake._ Regina tried to talk some sense into herself. _Emma's life is in California, she doesn't want to be trapped in some small town in Maine when she could be off travelling the world._

Despite how much Regina liked the clumsy, free-spirited and beautiful blonde beside her, she knew it would probably never amount to anything more than a long-distanced fling. Instead of waiting for the inevitable moment when her heart would be broken, perhaps it was best to just stay away from the start.

Regina knew this was her fault, she should not have led the other woman on, but there was just something _about_ her, and Regina couldn't help but react to it. She blamed it on Disneyland. Her emotions were still a little revved up from the magic that she still felt like everything and anything was possible. But _this_ was not a fairy tale, and Regina needed to protect them both from getting hurt.

Rather than saying any of the things she had _wanted_ to say when Emma had whispered in her ear, she had laughed the comment off, pretending they were still joking around, even though they both knew that wasn't the case.

For the rest of the flight they were civil and friendly, and Regina pretended that nothing had happened. She suspected that Emma was doing the same because even though she was still very kind, the blonde was now a little more reserved than she had been before. However it was not lost on Regina that Emma was still shooting not-so-subtle glances her way, and Emma was still watching her when she thought the brunette couldn't see. Regina felt terribly, but she knew keeping her distance was for the best.

* * *

 _I'm such a freaking idiot._ Emma scolded herself. _Regina was kidding. She was KIDDING!_ Emma knew she had weirded the other woman out when she'd whispered in her ear, and so now it was time to lay a little bit low. She could sense that Regina _did_ like her... well... at least she had liked her at _first_ , but perhaps Emma had moved too fast and had misinterpreted Regina's intentions. Regina was nice to her the rest of the flight, but there were no more comments or small touches that could be mistaken for flirting.

...

* * *

 **Logan International Airport: Boston, Massachusetts**

Regina wasn't quite ready to say goodbye to Emma when their plane landed. The rest of the flight had quite literally flown by, and Regina found herself wanting more time with the quirky Californian. She regretted her behaviour on the plane, and despite what she kept trying to tell herself, she was very drawn to Emma. And so – she was realizing – was her son.

As the two of them walked through the airport, Henry was talking away beside her but Regina was paying little attention. In her mind she was replaying over and over again her parting with Emma. She knew their fingers had been entwined just a little bit too long as they shook hands in farewell... their gazes had been locked for much longer than was normal for two acquaintances... and Regina could still feel the fabric of Emma's red coat as they had briefly hugged goodbye and wished each other a Merry Christmas.

 _I think Emma actually really liked me_. Regina thought sadly. _Why can't I ever just let myself be happy? Why must I ruin everything?_ Regina knew she could go for another good dose of Disney right about now.

"Mom do you think Emma will get to her parents' house today?"

"Hmm?" Regina asked distractedly, still looking ahead as they meandered through the busy airport.

"Do you think Emma will make it to her parents' today?" Henry repeated as they walked. Henry had a backpack thrown over his shoulders and Regina was rolling a carry-on size Luis Vuitton suitcase.

"I don't know Henry... I hope so."

"What if her flight gets cancelled?" Henry asked a little too enthusiastically.

"Henry... I know you liked her but we couldn't have just brought her home with us. She's not an abandoned puppy."

Henry rolled his eyes. "But she said it herself! She wanted to see Storybrooke. I did really like her, and you did too, I could tell."

Regina eyed him warily. She was holding his hand as they made their way towards baggage claim. They were just about to leave the secure area, and Regina found herself stopping. Once she went through those doors she would officially be separated from Emma forever. Her abrupt stop nearly caused an accident as two chattering girls wearing Stanford sweatshirts barely missed colliding with her from behind. They both apologized even though it had clearly Regina's fault.

"I'm sorry, excuse me." Regina mumbled to them as she searched the crowds, wondering if by some twist of fate Emma had followed them.

"Mom?"

After scouring the area, she was disappointed when she did not get a location on Emma Swan.

"You're looking for her aren't you?"

"What? No of course I'm not," Regina quickly lied, "I'm just not sure where we're supposed to go, that's all."

"Mom," Henry tilted his head back, tired with her resistance. He wished she would just be honest. "We've been at this airport way too many times for me to believe that."

Regina looked down at her son in surprise. For someone so young he was very sharp.

"Why don't we just go back and look for her?" Henry suggested.

Regina sighed, turning around again, trying to force her feet to move forward. She felt lost all of a sudden. "Because Henry, it's not fair to ask her to miss another Christmas with her parents. Besides, she's a complete stranger. We don't know anything about her. She could be dangerous for all we know." Regina was trying to convince herself as much as her son.

Henry was staring at her, his expression deadpan. "Mom. Do you want to go back?"

Regina's shoulders practically sagged, which was very unlike her. She bit her lip as she gave herself a few more seconds to ponder. Finally she shook her head.

 _It's too late._

She had let Emma Swan go and now she would have to live with the consequences and regret. "Come on," she said softly, "we should retrieve our bags and get to the car. I want to head home before the weather gets worse. We're going to have a long drive ahead of us and I don't want to end up stranded in a ditch somewhere." She draped an arm lightly around his shoulders and guided him towards the exit.

 _Why, why did I push her away?_ Regina thought miserably as she and Henry exited to the baggage claim. _I didn't even get a phone number._

* * *

 _A/N: Thank you for reading, please review! Take care xx_


	6. Chapter 6

Regina and Henry collected their checked suitcases from the carousel and then exited the baggage claim to the public area of Arrivals. It was just as busy as it had been back at the gates, but here Regina could see all of the people who had come to pick up their loved ones. She felt a deeper sense of regret as they walked past all the hugging and crying happy and reunited people.

A part of her wanted to turn around and go back for Emma. _How could I have been so stupid?_! She yelled at herself inside. She couldn't go back into the secure area without another plane ticket... but it would be crazy to buy another plane ticket just to search for someone she had just met... wouldn't it? As much as she would like to, she couldn't just jump security and race to Emma's gate, hoping the whole time that she wouldn't be tackled by security. Surely she would be arrested, and likely _before_ she would be able to get anywhere even close to Emma anyway. That kind of thing may work in the movies, but this was real life, and in real life if she were to attempt a big romantic gesture like that she would likely not only ruin her own Christmas but probably Henry's as well.

Regina breathed a deep sigh as she looked sideways at her son. He was all she had ever had, and until now, was all she had ever felt like she needed. She just needed to let Emma go and move on. She and Henry would have a wonderful Christmas together just like they always did.

* * *

 _You. Have. Got. To. Be. KIDDING ME!_

Back inside the terminal, Emma was staring up at the Departures screen and she felt like she could scream. They had really, really been lucky to get a flight from California today because now that they were in Boston nearly all of the flights were in the red. About ninety-five percent of the flights were listed as either Delayed or Cancelled.

Emma felt sick. Had she really just flown all this way to still miss Christmas? Back in Los Angeles she had even considered the option of driving from Boston to South Carolina but that seemed ridiculous to her now. If the weather was so bad that the planes couldn't safely take off then how the hell was she supposed to drive for over fifteen hours?

Emma felt like she could cry, and she wished with her whole soul that she was back on the plane with Regina and Henry. Sure Regina wasn't into her the way Emma had hoped she would be, but Regina had still been very nice to her and Emma thought they could be great friends. Perhaps it would be difficult to be close to Regina and not be able to have the kind of relationship she wanted, but getting to be near her just might be enough.

Emma pushed the thought aside, it was too late for that, Regina was gone. After what had happened on the plane Emma had been too nervous to ask for contact information. Emma forced herself to focus, and she stared at her flight where it was listed on the board:

AJ 815 - Charleston - CANCELLED

Emma breathed a heavy sigh. She decided to do what probably literally every other hopeful passenger in the airport was doing, and go to the desk for Ajira Airlines. She knew before she even got there that they would confirm that her plane was not leaving any time soon. Once she finally made it to the front of the long line at the counter, the employee helping her checked her flight status on the computer. This woman's name was Debra, and Emma hoped that Debra would turn out to be as wizard as Cindy.

"Well..." Debra muttered to herself as she studied the screen. "Your plane is actually already here at Logan, but I'm afraid it won't be flying out today."

Emma bit her lip. "Isn't there any other flight I can get put on?" She didn't even know why she was asking this redundant question but she couldn't help it. "What about JFK? If I can get to JFK I might have a better chance of getting to South Carolina, the weather's a little better in New York right?"

"Unfortunately ma'am, JFK is experiencing heavy cancellations too." Debra told her with a look of deepest sympathy.

Emma figured Debra must have been giving this same look to every single customer today, and Emma did not envy her having to be the bearer of bad news. Angry travellers were people she liked to stay far away from.

"What I _can_ do for you is get you a spot on the standby list... but with the amount of people already trying to get flights out, it's my best guess that you won't get a seat until tomorrow morning."

Emma sighed, leaning on the counter in front of her.

 _I want Cindy..._

"Would you like me to do that for you?" Debra asked her.

Emma breathed another heavy sigh. "Sure, why not."

* * *

Emma was curled up on a cushy chair in one of the Oceanic Airline lounges. She had been here several times before but never had it been so busy. Emma was miserable as she looked around and watched all the people interacting with their travelling companions. Many seemed to be couples or friends, some had younger children with them, and while there were many people who were clearly upset over their busted travel plans, Emma suspected that none of them were as unhappy as she was.

She thought back to her parting with Regina. _Regina actually hugged me! I can't have screwed things up that bad if she's hugging me._

Emma was usually so good at reading people but today she just couldn't figure it out. Regina didn't seem to want a relationship, but she was hugging her... Emma thought back to the look in the other woman's eyes when they had said goodbye, and the way she had held onto her hand just that little bit too long.

Emma's heart started thumping as she realized what Regina's body language had been telling her. _Regina was afraid of getting her heart broken._

Emma recognized the way Regina had reacted on the plane now, and it only made sense. Regina knew they would be parting here in Boston and probably wouldn't see each other again. Regina didn't want to start anything that couldn't possibly last, _because she didn't want to have to say goodbye._

 _No no no..._

Emma knew it was possible that she was wrong... _But I'm not wrong._

Emma grabbed her coat quickly and raced out of the lounge. It had been so long since they had landed but maybe, just maybe, Regina was still here at the airport and Emma could catch her before it was too late.

* * *

 _A/N: I'll be with my whole family after tomorrow so I don't know how much writing I will get done but I will do my best! Thanks for reading, please leave a review xx_


	7. Chapter 7

_**A/N: Hello everyone! I hope you're having a good weekend! And I hope these past few chapters are alright, I've been spending way less time than I usually do on chapters for other stories so that I'll be able to get them posted more quickly. I might have to do a short-stop and continue the story next year. I don't know how many people will want to read a Christmas story after Christmas Day is over :P I'll try to post more in the next few days but it's going to be busy!**_

* * *

Emma raced through the airport as quickly as she could. She had to dodge people constantly and even bumped into a few, in which case she apologized profusely but did not stop by any means. She needed to get to Regina before the other woman left the airport.

 _I should have ditched this damn suitcase,_ she grumbled to herself after her carry-on caught on someone else's and nearly caused a ten-person pile up.

It had already been two hours since their flight from California had landed, but Emma clung to the hope that Regina had waited for her. Maybe she and Henry decided to take a rest before their long drive back to Maine, maybe they were at one of the restaurants having lunch or dinner or whatever meal it was time for in this time zone. Emma knew it was unlikely that Regina was still in Boston, but she couldn't _not_ try. She knew it was entirely possible that she was wrong and that Regina really wasn't into her, but Emma was very good at reading people. Her initial hurt at Regina's subtle rejection on the plane had thrown her off, but after being able to sit in the lounge and dwell on everything that had happened, she knew she was right about Regina.

As she continued to manoeuvre through the terminal, Emma was extremely grateful that she hadn't given in to the temptation of alcohol to drown her sorrows back in the Oceanic executive lounge. All she had eaten that day was sugar, and she knew all of this running around would have made her sick. She needed to be sharp if she was going to track down this amazing woman in this great sea of holiday travellers. Regina was average height and Henry was obviously quite short, so she had to look very carefully as she moved through the masses in Arrivals.

* * *

It was about an hour later and Emma was slumped in a seat beside other slumpy, tired and stranded unfortunates.

There had been no luck in locating Regina and Henry, and Emma had finally accepted that they had probably already headed home a long time ago. It was now getting close to four hours since their flight had landed, and if Regina and Henry had left as soon as they had picked up their luggage then it was entirely possible they would be reaching home very shortly.

Emma had in her hand, the ticket to the cancelled flight from Boston to Charleston, and also a voucher for a free night at the Hilton Boston Logan Airport. She knew the most normal thing to do was to take her voucher, redeem her free hotel room and curl up and watch Christmas movies for the rest of the day while treating herself to expensive room service. A normal person in this situation would call her parents, who would tell her everything would work out and that she would be home the next day, with plenty of time to spare until Christmas. A normal person would wait for that standby seat to become available.

Emma on the other hand, apparently wasn't so concerned with being normal. After taking her brief rest, Emma journeyed over to Departures and located the Ajira Airlines check-in desk. When she got to the front of the line she was disappointed to find that the man assisting her was certainly no Cindy.

"I'm sorry, you _aren't_ checking in for a flight?" He asked her in confusion.

"Well I mean, even if I wanted to what would be the point? No flights are going out anyway right?"

"I don't really understand what you're asking me."

Emma sighed. "Okay." She started over. "I _just_ flew in from Los Angeles on an Ajira Airlines flight. We landed a couple of hours ago. On my flight I was sitting beside a woman named Regina. She was sitting in 5B. Could you please give me her contact information? It's really important that I get in touch with her."

"Did the two of you book your flight together?"

Emma wanted to roll her eyes. "Obviously not if I need her contact info." She responded a little short-temperedly, which was probably a mistake.

The man looked up at her, a little annoyed. "I'm sorry, I can't give out the personal information of our passengers, it's against our policy and it's a security issue."

"Screw the policy, it's Christmas and I need to find her! Please?" Emma asked a little more quietly to try to earn his sympathy.

"I'm sorry I can't. I could lose my job."

"Not if I don't tell anyone you divulged information." Emma tried to convince him. "If _I_ don't tell and _you_ don't tell, then how is anyone going you find out you told me?"

"What if this other passenger sees it as an infringement on her privacy? She's a stranger to you isn't she? What if she doesn't want you to contact her? I'm sorry, I can't help you."

* * *

Emma had to leave the Ajira Airlines desk before things got ugly. She had nearly started a fight with 'Not Cindy' until she remembered that Regina's original flight reservation had been with Oceanic Airlines.

Currently Emma was meandering slowly towards the airport shuttles, after deciding to take a breather. She was going to check into her room after all, take a nap, and wait for backup. And by that she meant one of her contacts at Oceanic. She had a good friend named Clea who worked in flight-reservations, and she hoped that Clea would be able to access Regina's information from her original flight from Orange County to Boston; the one that had been cancelled the day before Emma's had. Emma had already tried calling Clea but the line had been busy and she knew her friend would return the call as soon as she was able to.

When Emma first stepped outside into the Massachusetts December snow storm she nearly passed out it was so cold. Her thin pea coat did absolutely nothing to protect her from the wind. As she shivered nearly half to death while waiting for the shuttle, she vowed to never ever complain about the cold in California again. By the time Emma was finally dragging her feet across the carpet in the beautifully kept and festively decorated lobby of the Hilton, all she wanted was to kick off her shoes and curl up under a blanket in bed. Her feet were tired and her heart was hurting. She needed wine, ice cream, maybe a salad to counteract all the sugar, and then more wine.

As she crossed the lobby towards check-in, her eye was caught by a little girl reading a classic-looking hardback book. Emma glanced at the title and saw that the child was reading Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Emma's memory suddenly flooded with the recollection of a name. _Storybrooke_. The name of the town Henry had said he and Regina lived in. Regina had said she was the mayor of her small town. If Emma could only find this 'Storybrooke', then surely it would be easy to find Regina from there? People in small towns knew everyone right? So it wouldn't take a lot of asking around to find where the mayor lived.

Still standing in the middle of the Hilton's lobby, Emma bit her lip as she glanced towards the check-in desk. Yes it would be nice to wallow in self pity and binge the rest of the day away, but wouldn't it be even _more_ nice if she could find the woman of her dreams? Of course, this could all go very horribly wrong if Regina decided that Emma was a stalker, but Emma had good sense about this. She knew deep down that even if Regina did not yet want to show it, the brunette had feelings for her too.

In no time at all, Emma soon found herself returned to the airport and making a stop at one of the rental car agencies. As she waited in line she made a pact with herself: Once she arrived in Storybrooke, if Regina was upset when she discovered that Emma had followed her Emma would leave immediately and never bother the other woman again. But if on the other hand Regina welcomed her arrival...

Emma couldn't take it. She had already pulled up the location of the strange little town on The Google, and now all she needed was a set of wheels to take her there.

* * *

 _A/N: Thank you for reading, please let me know what you think! Take care xx_


	8. Chapter 8

**_A/N: I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas!_**

* * *

"What the hell am I doing?" Emma asked herself aloud once she pulled her shiny new rental SUV onto the Interstate. She had decided to go big because of the weather and because of her rustiness at driving in winter conditions. She did not entirely trust herself not to get stuck in a snow drift. There was also the question of other drivers skidding into her, and she would rather be in a vehicle that offered a little more protection than the beloved VW beetle she had waiting for her back in California.

"Am I crazy? Is this a crazy thing to do?" Emma asked as she drove. "Well, it's certainly crazy to talk to yourself in an otherwise empty car while stalking a stranger state to state."

Now that Emma was executing her last-minute plan she was starting to grow nervous. What if Regina completely freaked when she learned that Emma had ditched her parents at Christmas of all times, had creepily found where Regina lived and then drove four hours in a snow storm to find her.

 _Maybe I should turn around._ Emma thought. She had only just left the airport and it was still possible to go the other direction and road trip it for a day or two up to Charleston. Or a third option was to return the car, check into her free room at the Hilton and try to drown out all thoughts of Regina with cheesy Christmas movies that had predictable endings.

"Or not." She muttered to herself as she thought about every Hallmark movie she had ever seen.

In these films, the work-obsessed scrooge always fell in love with the small-town-perfect-human who showed the scrooge the true meaning of Christmas, and how small towns provide life at its finest. Or something along those lines. Did this mean that Emma was the scrooge in this scenario?

"Well you have skipped Christmas at home for like five years in a row now..." Emma reminded herself under her breath. _Regina's not a scrooge. She's the small-town-perfect-human who absolutely loves Christmas._

If this were a Hallmark movie, Emma would see how picture-perfect and welcoming everything and everyone was in Storybrooke. She would end up moving to the little town and live happily ever after. But this was not a movie, and the 'happy ending' Emma was heading for most likely looked like a restraining order and a bruised heart.

Emma breathed a heavy sigh as she thought of two more people who could get hurt in this mess. She decided to give them a call in order to explain the situation, and maybe also to receive a good lecture on common sense from her mother.

* * *

It was about fifteen minutes later and Emma was at a rest stop. She had decided that with the current road conditions, it wouldn't be a good idea to make a phone call while on the Interstate. With how heavily the snow was falling she needed her entire focus to remain solely on driving.

Emma was parked but had remained in her car with the engine shut off. She was holding her phone up to her ear and was listening to the line ringing. Emma was ashamed to admit that a part of her hoped no one would pick up.

"Hello?"

She wasn't surprised at how comforting the sound of her father's voice was after the day she had been having.

"Hey Dad, it's me."

"Emma? Is everything okay? We received your message about the plane. Were you able to get put onto another flight?"

"No... There aren't really any flights going out today. I've been put on the waiting list but they told me I likely won't be getting a seat until tomorrow. I'm sorry Dad."

"Don't be. This isn't your fault. There are still four days until Christmas, you'll be here long before then. Just check into a hotel so you're by the airport and take it easy for tonight. I'll be less worried knowing you'll be safe for the night. I wouldn't risk flying on a day like this."

"Is it bad up there too?" Emma ignored the comment about the hotel with a twinge of guilt.

"Well it's definitely going to be a white Christmas, but I wouldn't worry, it'll clear up enough in time and we'll see you soon."

"Yeah," Emma smiled at his optimism. She did still wish she could have seen her parents that day. "Do you think I could talk to Mom?"

"Of course, I'll go get her. She'll be so relieved to hear your voice."

"Thanks Dad. I've missed you."

"I've missed you too Emma."

Emma held her breath as she waited for her mother. She still had absolutely no idea what she was going to say.

"Emma?" Her mother's voice sounded a minute later.

"Hey," Emma trailed out the word a little.

"Hi sweetie, how are you? I'm sorry about your flight."

"I'm okay... I think, if anything, I was more annoyed after what happened back in L.A this morning."

"Wait, but it was your L.A. flight that got cancelled wasn't it? Or are you not in California anymore?"

Emma breathed a small, regretful sigh. She had forgotten to tell them about her new flights. _Daughter of the year._

"Well... long story short, I'm in Boston. I'll tell you the whole thing when I see you, but right now it looks like I'm stuck in Massachusetts for the night. "

"Oh, Boston? At least that's a little closer than California. As long as your safe that's all that matters. Are you staying at one of the hotels at the airport for the night?"

Emma held her breath for a beat. "Actually Mom, there is something I need to tell you."

"Of course honey, anything." Her mother said, although Emma could detect a hint of worry.

"So... I kind of met someone on the plane, and I really like them."

"Uh-huh..." Her mother's voice rose expectantly. Emma could practically hear the excited smile on her face.

"And well... I'm kind of..." Emma cleared her throat. _Yep, definitely crazy._ "I'm kind of on my way to visit her right now."

"Does she live in Massachusetts?" Her mother asked, hopeful that Emma might finally be dating someone.

"A small town in Maine, actually."

There was a brief pause and Emma was sure the gears were turning in her mother's head.

"Emma, please don't tell me that you are driving all the way from Boston to Maine in a _blizzard_?!"

"That's... exactly what I'm doing." Emma said apologetically as she brushed a hand through her hair.

"But Emma there's so much ice! And when the wind picks up it's going to be almost impossible to see through all the snow!"

"Well I mean, Regina's doing it so it must be possible right?"

"Regina is the woman you met on the plane? Does she know you're coming? For all you know she could have pulled off and checked into a hotel for the night."

"She doesn't know I'm coming, no." Emma winced a little, waiting for the tornado that was her mother's fretting.

"You have to tell her! I'm sure she will agree with me that it's too dangerous."

"I can't exactly call her. I don't have her number." Emma admitted a little sheepishly.

"Emma this is really poor planning."

"I thought it would be nice to surprise her." Emma tried to defend herself.

"But... you only just met her today?" Her mother sounded confused now.

"Yeah?" Emma winced a little more.

"Emma!" Her mother scolded.

"You think I'm crazy don't you? I wouldn't blame you." Emma practically mumbled. She could hear her mother breathe a soft sigh before hurriedly relaying the situation to Emma's father.

"No Emma," the sigh was evident in her mother's voice. "I don't think you're crazy. You must really like this Regina to risk your life for a visit."

"Is it crazy to follow her home though? What if she thinks I'm stalking her or something?"

"Did she seem to like you too?"

"She bought me coffee... she hugged me... she told me I was very attractive? She brushed her hands through my hair... She's so beautiful, and nice, and classy – you would love her. She has this perfect brown hair and the most amazing dark brown eyes I've ever seen..." Emma suddenly stopped herself, feeling her face grow warm as she realized she had moved beyond the question she had been asked.

"The most amazing eyes hmm?" Her mother asked with a hint of teasing. "Emma, I'm really happy for you, but please, _please_ be careful on the roads."

"Wait," Emma said in surprise. "You're _not_ mad that I left the airport?"

"Of course not, Regina could be the one for you. And even though the thought of your driving in that weather scares me, I know you are responsible. You'll stop at a hotel if it gets to be too much?"

"Yeah, I promise I will. But... what if I don't make it back in time for Christmas?"

"Emma there are still several days left, there is time to make it back for Christmas Day... Or who knows, maybe you'll be spending it with Regina instead?" Her mother actually sounded a little hopeful. All she had ever wanted was for Emma to find her soul mate.

"Mom, I just met her" Emma almost rolled her eyes, but then she could feel a small smile tugging at her lips. "Do you really think this could be a good idea?" Emma asked a little more quietly.

"Emma I think this is the sweetest thing I've ever heard. You could be on the road to true love."

"The snowy, icy, skiddy road..." Emma grumbled as she looked up at ever-snowing sky.

"You'll be fine Emma. Just take your time and stop for breaks as often as you need to. Are you going to get back on the road now?"

"I guess so." Emma replied, feeling a little more confident after her mother's encouragement.

"Then I'll wish you a safe trip. And Emma, good luck."

"Thanks Mom. I love you."

"I love you too honey. I'll give your best to your father for you."

"Thanks." Emma replied before hanging up the phone. For a few seconds she just sat back into her chair and pondered over her upcoming reunion with Regina and Henry. She hoped her mother was right.

Finally gathering the courage to get back on the highway, she started the car and pulled out of the parking lot, her journey felt revitalized again.

* * *

 _A/N: Thank you for reading! Please leave a review, take care xx_


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Hello everyone! Sorry to have disappeared, but luckily for you guys I got really sick and had to take the day off of work and this afternoon I made myself finish this chapter. :P I hope it's alright, I hope I'm not loopy from the cold medicine and this chapter is actually done like I think it is. :P**

* * *

Regina breathed a sigh of relief when their Mercedes SUV finally reached the historic _Welcome to Storybrooke_ sign that was stationed just inside the town limit. The four hour drive from Boston had taken about six hours due to the weather; Regina had been driving under the speed limit most of the way home in hopes of avoiding an accident. The final stretch from the city was always the worst in the winter, as the tree-lined roads that wound through the mountains were ploughed less often than the main highways.

"Mom are we still going to the Christmas Festival tonight?" Henry asked as he looked out the window at the winter wonderland of snow covered evergreen trees that walled each side of the road. The blizzard had let up a little and now the snow was falling softly and the trees were glistening with a layer of ice.

"I don't know Henry..." Regina said with regret. "I'm a little tired after all this driving." She said, looking up at the trees apprehensively, hoping no branches collapsed under the weight. "We're lucky we left the airport when we did, it's getting a bit warmer outside and everything is freezing over. I don't know if my nerves could have taken driving this far on slippery roads."

"But we've never missed it before!" Henry whined.

Regina bit her lip. "I'll see how I feel once we get home, alright?"

"Okay." Henry unconsciously bit his lip too. "If you don't want to go, could I still go by myself? I'm old enough now."

"You are _not_ old enough now." Regina countered firmly.

"But I'm nine years old."

"Which is too young."

"What if I go with Graham?"

Regina repressed an exhausted sigh. Graham was the town Sheriff and also a long time friend of hers. He had been in Henry's life for as long as the boy could remember. Regina trusted him but a part of her just wanted to have Henry by her side that night to cuddle up with and to watch Christmas movies with, otherwise she knew she would only end up brooding over thoughts of Emma again.

"Henry, Graham will be busy patrolling tonight." She responded simply, not taking her eyes off of the road.

"What about Granny?"

"Henry..."

"Come on Mom, just come with me. You have fun every year, and it'll take your mind off of Emma for a few hours."

"Henry!" Regina gave him a quick, but scolding look.

"What? It's true! You haven't stopped talking about her the whole drive home."

"When have I mentioned Emma?" Regina asked innocently.

Henry stared at her. He cleared his throat, and his already high voice raised a few pitches to mimic hers: _"Emma was so lovely wasn't she? Her job must take her to such exciting places. I wish I had asked her for her phone number. I wonder if her flight to South Carolina got out okay? I hope she has a good Christmas... Wasn't she just so charming? The way she blushed every time she embarrassed herself was dear."_

Regina tutted, rolling her eyes. "I do _not_ sound like that."

"Uh-huh, you do."

"I did not say _dear_."

"You did."

Regina breathed a heavy sigh. She fell silent, and her eyes seemed a little sad all of a sudden.

"I know Mom, I liked her too." Henry said more kindly, knowing what she was thinking. "Who knows? Maybe if we go to Disneyland again next year instead of Florida, we'll see her again."

"Henry, you know that's next to impossible. With the amount of flights going out? The amount of airports, and airlines... she could be flying out any day, she could be flying from anywhere in the _world_."

"Mom, I think that every single flight we take from now on should be with Oceanic." Henry said, emphasizing his seriousness. "One day maybe she'll be a flight attendant on our plane."

"Henry that's it," Regina said in a sudden whisper.

"What? You agree that we should keep flying with Oceanic until we find her?" Henry asked in surprised confusion.

"No of course not don't be silly... but what if I contacted Oceanic Airlines? They could tell me how to get in touch with her right? Or would that come across as too creepy? A stranger trying to get information on one of their employees... I'm sure that's against their policy."

"But at least you would know you tried."

Regina's shoulders uncharacteristically sagged a little. She knew he was right. "When did you get so wise?"

Henry shrugged. "I spend a lot of time with adults."

Regina feigned a gasp. "Am I your _best_ friend?"

Henry's features twisted a little as he thought. "No... I think Graham is my best friend." He said to tease her.

Regina pretended to look offended at his grin but she couldn't keep her face straight for long.

Henry shrugged. "He's a guy, he gets me."

Regina chuckled, shaking her head. Finally, they were turning onto their street. Luckily the town had been proactive about the road conditions and had already been combating the ice with sand. Regina felt much more in control of the car here than she had out on the country roads. She smiled when they were within sight of their house, a sizeable colonial white structure that was every bit as classy as its owner.

"Home sweet home," she sighed as they pulled into the driveway.

"I forgot how pretty it looked," Henry commented. He was right. Even though the heavy snowfall had made driving a bit of a nightmare, it made their home look every inch like it was out of a Christmas movie. It was nearly evening and the sun was low in the sky but the Christmas lights had already been turned on by a nightly timer. The columns on the front porch were spiraled in red ribbon and warm white fairy lights. The railing on the faux balcony over the porch was edged with garlands that were decorated with red ornaments and more lights. Beneath that, hanging from the portico were icicle lights that matched the ones hanging from the roof. The windows each had a beautiful wreath hanging in them, and while many of the decorations were covered in a layer of snow, it somehow made them feel even more festive and beautiful. To complete the effect, the short hedges that lined the path from the road up to the front door were netted with white lights, and the front gate was decorated with its own garlands and a red bow.

Regina hummed in agreement as she switched the car engine off and leaned gratefully back into her seat for a few moments.

"I can't wait to put my pajamas on and curl up by the fire with some hot cider." She commented, closing her eyes.

"After the festival though, right?" Henry asked hopefully.

Regina looked over at him. "We'll see," she said kindly. "Let's just get our bags inside first okay?"

"If I bring your suitcase in for you can we go?"

Regina breathed a laugh as she took her seatbelt off and stepped out of the SUV. She was instantly hit with a gust of cold air that her wool trench coat did little to protect her from. Tugging her coat collar to cover her neck, she opened the door to the backseat and grabbed her purse and carry-on, while Henry took his own little suitcase and backpack. He went to move around the back to get his mother's bigger suitcase.

"Wait Henry let me do it, it'll be too heavy for you." Regina quickly stopped him. He had already opened the trunk but stepped back a little so Regina could lift the bag out.

"I'll roll it to the door for you, I have a free hand." Henry said.

She smiled gratefully but offered him the handle of her carry-on suitcase instead. "I don't want you to hurt yourself." She explained.

Henry shrugged his indifference, affirming that he was strong enough, but without arguing he took the smaller suitcase and rolled it alongside his own, own in each hand.

The neighbour's teenaged son had been taking care of the walkways and driveway for Regina, and she was thankful that he seemed to have been over to shovel within the last hour. The driveway was covered in a thin layer but they were still able to easily roll the suitcases through it.

When Regina finally unlocked the front door and she and her son stepped into the foyer, she couldn't help but smile as the warmth and familiarity of home embraced her. Despite the flight cancellations, airport changes and dreadful weather, they had still made it home in time for the holidays. She hoped with all her heart the Emma would be able to say the same.

* * *

 _A/N: Thank you for reading, please leave a review! xx Take care everyone_


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Hello everyone! I hope you're having a good 2019 so far. Right now I am kind of back into the headspace required for Letting Go, but I listened to Christmas music this morning and got my Christmas spirit back up enough to finish this little chapter. Let me know what you think! Thank you to those of you who reviewed the last chapter, I always appreciate your feedback!**

* * *

Throughout the final thirty minutes or so of the drive, Emma was filled with a growing anxiousness that had nothing to do with the terrible road conditions, or with the forest branches leaning too far over the road, due to the weight of the ice on top of them. _What if Regina completely freaks when she sees me? What if she rejects me? What if she calls the police?_ Emma worried. The last thing she wanted was to scare the beautiful brunette.

It had been well over four hours since Emma had left the airport, and she was ashamed when thoughts of turning around crossed her mind once again. She had made it so far, but maybe it was better to cut this trip short and avoid an embarrassing and heart-crushing refusal.

 _But I've already told Mom._ Emma reminded herself. _And the weather... there is no way I'll be able drive all the way back to the airport tonight. The hotels are probably booked up by now too..._

Emma sighed. Regina had been lucky to have left Boston when she did. The brunette would have had at least an hour head start, and hopefully had reached home before everything had begun to ice over.

When Emma was asking herself for the thousandth time what she was thinking, amidst the trees ahead of her she spied a very snowed-in sign. Through the heavy snowfall she could just make out the words 'Welcome to Storybrooke', once she got close enough.

 _Oh god. Oh god oh god._ Emma's heart began to race again. This was it. Regina and Henry were _so_ close and she still had absolutely zero clue as to what she was going to say when she saw them. At the beginning of the trip she had convinced herself that she would have ample time to come up with something witty or romantic in the many hours it was going to take to get there, but here she was, hours and hours later, and still, nothing.

Emma was doing about nine miles per hour because of how snowy the roads were. This was because about five minutes previously, the road had taken a slight bend and when she had turned the car she could feel it sliding to keep going sideways on its own. She was really really proud of herself for going with the all-wheel-drive-off-road-capable SUV back at the rental place. She never would have made it in her own yellow bug. When finally she passed the welcome sign, it was as if she had just exited a snow globe. She was surprised to find that the road was ploughed, and even the snow seemed to have let up a bit. She could still see the ice on the trees, but the roads were no longer as hazardous as they had been further back in the country roads. Emma assumed that the snow ploughs must have made the main parts of town their priority, and would return to do the back roads later.

Soon Emma could see houses and buildings up ahead and knew she had reached Storybrooke. Now was the problem of figuring out what to do next. Her plan had been to simply ask around to learn where Regina lived, but what if the locals didn't want to help a creepy stalker find their beloved mayor? Okay, so maybe Emma had taken liberties on assuming the 'beloved' part, but based on what Emma had seen earlier how could anyone not love a mayor like Regina?

Emma was driving down Main Street now and she absolutely loved what she saw. The whole little town looked like a Christmas village. The street lights all had wreaths and ornaments, the shops and buildings were all decorated, there were snowmen, Emma could see a giant Christmas tree in a park up ahead... it was completely breathtaking. She had arrived just as the sun was going down so while all the lights were already on, she still had a clear view of the street. Despite the weather there were people everywhere, and Emma wondered if this was the holiday celebration Henry had mentioned back on the plane. Even from her car she could see that everyone outside just looked so happy.

Yes. This definitely seemed like a wonderful place to live.

* * *

After a shower and a cup of coffee, Regina had finally agreed to take Henry to the Christmas Festival that evening. The festival itself wasn't all that different from the tree lighting the town held at the end of November, but it was just another excuse for the townspeople to get together and indulge in wintery treats and enjoy the festive beauty that was Storybrooke, Maine at Christmas.

Henry was already bundled up and standing impatiently at the door. When he decided that Regina was taking too long he kicked off his boots and ran up the steps to the main landing, carrying her scarf and coat in tow. "Come on Mom we're going to be late!" He called out to her.

Regina appeared at the top of the stairs to the second floor with a fresh face of makeup on. She had changed into a cashmere sweater, which was a little more East-Coast-weather appropriate than her thin, red silk blouse had been.

"Henry there's not a set time we have to arrive. It's not like the tree lighting." She said as she descended the staircase.

"I don't want Granny's to run out of free hot chocolate and cookies."

"When does Granny ever run out? She's more than prepared every year, and you know if we stop by the diner tomorrow she'll have a tin full of freshly baked 'leftovers' just waiting for you."

Henry just held her coat out to her – a slim fit Bordeaux colored Canada Goose parka with a fur trim around the hood – and a cashmere classic check Burberry scarf that he had selected at random from the closet. "I don't want to miss anything." He said with a pleading look in his eyes.

Regina gave him a soft smile as she took the scarf from him and wrapped it expertly around herself. Henry moved behind her onto the first step of the staircase. He held the coat out for her and she slipped her arms back into its sleeves.

"Thank you sweetheart," Regina said as she bundled herself into the coat. She pulled a pair of gloves from one of the pockets and reached for her purse, which had been patiently waiting on the staircase since their return from the airport. "Will you be warm enough?" She asked. "Don't forget, we won't be taking the car."

"Well right now I'm overheating." The nine-year-old arched his eyebrow, a trait he had learned from his mother.

Regina inspected his outfit. He was wearing a winter coat, a wool pom-pom hat, a grey and red striped scarf and mittens. She must have approved because she responded with: "Let me know if you get cold, we can go into the diner or look around in the shops to warm up."

"Okay." Henry agreed.

Regina affectionately zipped his coat up a little bit more before placing a gentle hand on his back to guide him towards the front door and back into the chilly December evening.

* * *

 _A/N: Thanks for reading, please leave a review! Take care xx_


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